The Morning Afterlife
by ElBarnes
Summary: Chloe has died again on the same night Brian has lost his only life. The night Alek and Jasmine, her friends and protectors, have been left for dead. Nothing will ever be the same again but life goes on. It just has to.  Rating might change
1. Chapter 1

_Good whatever part of the day it is for you at the moment! Let me introduce myself quickly. I'm Elie, a French girl who is so desperate for her show to get closure that she decided to write her own version of season two. And so here it is. The Morning Afterlife takes off after the events of Beautiful Day so if you haven't seen the serie *sobs* finale yet, don't read this. _

_As you guessed, this will follow the TV show and not the books which I have not read and honestly don't intend to read in the near future. Oh and I own nothing, evidently. If I did TNLOCK would still be on air._

_Enjoy, comment, let me know if I should keep it going._

**Chapter 1: After The War**

It was only two in the morning when Chloe woke up that night, sweat and tears covering her face as she checked herself for wounds, just to make sure it was just a bad dream, nothing more than another bad dream. Once reassured

, but only just a little, she dropped back on the mattress with a heavy sigh. She wasn't going back to sleep, that was for sure. She knew how it worked now. She knew that once the nightmare had made its way to her conscious, she could not close her eyes without it displaying behind her closed eyelids again. And if ever she were to push the bad dream out of her system, thoughts of her reality would keep her up. This was a fight she couldn't win. She wasn't strong enough, not physically and definitely not emotionally. She had never believed she could do what was expected to her, not once had she thought she could actually unit Mai and all the races she didn't even know about, but that night, the night she lost a life, the night Brian died, the night Alek almost got killed, she'd known without the shadow of a doubt. She just wasn't cut off for the job. There had been a mistake and people, friends of her, were paying the price.

_The sound of sirens in the background was making Chloe painfully aware of the fact that she had to go now. She had to run as fast and as far as she could, erase all hints that she'd ever been in there, ever hold Brian's corpse. She looked down at him. He looked peaceful. If it wasn't for the lack of colors on his face, she'd believe he was just sleeping. But he was as white as a sheet and as cold as ice. He really was dead. She blamed him. He shouldn't have kissed her, not when he'd thought she was dead, not when he'd believed she was with Alek. Alek. She hadn't thought of him since he'd disappeared on her. She blamed him too. He shouldn't have left her. He shouldn't have made assumptions that were leading him to doubt her. But had he been wrong? Did she choose Brian over him? Was it what had killed him? Yes. She blamed herself. None of this, tonight, would have happened if it wasn't for her. She was the one who had trusted strange emails signed by her long-gone father, getting herself into a trap. She was the one who had broken Alek's heart strongly enough to make him want to run away from her. She was the one who had egoistically thought she could have Brian in her life without risking taking his away. She was the only one to blame. _

_"Chloe, we have to go now." Amy urged calmly, anxiously glancing at the door, expecting to see cops barging in any moment. Her fears weren't so irrelevant for once. The sirens weren't distant anymore, they were clear and loud, dangerously close. But Chloe couldn't move. She couldn't let go of Brian's body. He didn't deserve to be left alone. He didn't deserve any of it. She'd killed him, she might as well face the consequences. She'd confess that it was an accident, she didn't want to kill him, she'd never wanted to kill him. She loved him. She should have stay away from him. She should have been happy to have Alek, to be Alek's and Alek's only. He would have loved. He would have made her happy. She would have loved him too, with time. She would have fallen for him, she was quite certain of it, she had already started her descent. But it didn't matter anymore. Brian was dead and Alek... She had ruined it, their relationship, whatever it was._

_"I know it's hard but you can't stay with him." Amy insisted again and pulled on Chloe's hand to help her up. If it hadn't been for Brian lying on her laps, she would have been pulled on her feet. That was how weak, how numb, she was. Only when the sirens come to a stop did she snap out of it. She couldn't stay here. She couldn't explain what had happened, she didn't even know much herself. But most of all, she couldn't let Amy and Paul get caught here. They had done nothing, seen nothing, but it wouldn't matter to the cops. She quickly moved Brian's body off of laps but still carefully. He felt heavy, heavier than he should be. She could hear car doors being shut closed, loads of them. They could't use the front door. She'd seen a window on her run, she could climb on the roof from there. Amy and Paul couldn't possibly follow her, they'd kill themselves trying. She had to find another way out, fast._

_"Go. We'll stay with him. He doesn't have any wound, they'll believe us if we say we just found him here." Paul assured with a weak smile as he sensed his best friend's reluctance to leave. Chloe hesitated for a second before running up the stairs to climb out of the window. She didn't want to leave her friends behind but she had no other choice. She was covered in blood, her top had holes where the bullets had hit her. Questions would be asked and she had no answers to give. She stood on the rooftop for a few minutes, watching the cops step in the building, guns in hand. She closed her eyes, silently praying that her friends would be alright. She couldn't forgive herself otherwise, not anymore, not after everything. She opened her eyes, took in a deep breath and jumped in the back street before running as fast as she could. There was only one thing she wanted to do right now, only one person she wantex to see, and she didn't care that he wanted her out of his life. She needed him. She needed Alek._

At four in the morning, when it was clear that she would not go back to sleep, Chloe went on a run around town. It had become a habit of her over the last few weeks. She'd wander like a lost soul until she'd find herself standing in front of the building she used to think of as a safe place. She'd climb on the roof and wait for the sun to show up, hoping he'd come to join her there, just like he used to do when it was her rooftop she was sitting on. She'd keep on coming here every night, waiting for him to be ready, waiting for him to forgive her. And she'd wait for as long as she had to. Only a few months back, she'd have given anything to have a few hours without Alek breathing up on her neck but now, she'd gladly sacrifice everything to have him back. She'd only realized recently that she'd lost more than just her persistent crush that night. She'd lost her friend, possibly boyfriend. She saw him sometimes, a vision of him, standing in her bedroom with pain on his face. Sometimes, often, all the time, she wished she could take it all back. She wished they could be back in her bedroom, wished she could tell him that he had never been just a second best to her and that yes, she'd made a choice but no, it wasn't Brian. And maybe it'd be a lie, maybe it had been Brian, maybe it had been Brian since the beginning, but it wouldn't always be. It was never supposed to be forever. She should have realized it sooner. It could have saved Brian's life. It could have saved all of their lives.

_The night was dark, darker than it should be on a summer night. Or maybe it was just her perception, maybe everything would always be dark now, like a shadows had suddenly fallen on her world, keeping the light, any light, to peek in. Chloe couldn't say how long she'd been running for. All she knew was the pain in her lungs as they tried to keep up. She jogged, jumped, never slowing down, never stopping. She had to get away. She had to go somewhere safe, somewhere she'd be protected. She wanted to go home and hide in her bedroom but she wouldn't put her mother on the line. Meredith might have been in danger since the day her husband had brought their baby girl home but it was no reason to get her on real bullets' path. Chloe came to a sudden halt and starred at the building in front of her. She was at the Mai's complex. Eighteen floors, three hundred and sixty steps above Valentina's penthouse. It hit her like a ton of bricks then. Home wasn't her safe place anymore; Alek was. She remembered their talk on her rooftop, after their first date, she'd told him that she didn't feel safe then, and it was the honest truth, but the minute his lips had found hers, it was like all of her worries, all of her doubts, had flown out of the window. It had only lasted a few seconds, not even a minute, but it had been enough to calm her down. It was odd, considering just how nervous she used to feel around him, but then again, her whole life was a succession of strange discoveries, realizations and feelings lately. She took in a deep breath and walked in the building. She brushed past the doorman, a weak smile on her face as she silently prayed for him to not notice the blood on her camisole, or at least to not question it. And he didn't. He just opened the door with a discreet nod. He was a friend of Valentina, of the Mai, he wouldn't sell her, them, out. She climbed the eighteen floors like they were just a six steps ladder, only stopping to catch her breath once all the way up there. He might not even be here and even if he was, he probably didn't want to see her. Had the situations been revered, she wouldn't want to see him. She pushed the door open, just a bit, just enough to see a form on the floor and a dark red poodle next to it. She gasped, screamed, she wasn't sure. She rushed down the corridor, falling on her knees next to his body, checking in the bruises on his face, the dry blood around him. She could feel the tears threatening to fall from her eyes as she continuously pleaded him to wake up, give her a sign that he was still there, still alive. She concentrated to hear his heartbeat, just like that day under the tower clock. It was weak but it was there, She sighed in relief, lying her head on his chest, not caring about the blood covering her hair. That's when she saw it, the other body, Jasmine's body. A strangled sob escaped her as she crawled into the apartment to reach her friend. She might not know what had happened here but she already knew that it was all her fault. She had to get help, do something, anything. She looked around the room, her eyes falling on Valentina. She looked so pale, Chloe didn't even need to check her pulse. She stumbled on her side and took the phone in her hands. She didn't know much about the Mai but she doubted 911 could do anything for them. She remembered that time, when Jasmine had been stabbed to protect her, Alek had vehemently refused to take her to the hospital. Chloe flipped through Valentina's contacts, trying to find a name she knew, someone she could trust with her friends' life._

The sun was starting to peek in, coloring the sky with pastel shades, and Chloe still sat on the Mai's building rooftop. She used to sleep through sunrise. She used to not know how the sky looked like in the early hours of the morning or how empty the street of San Francisco were before rush hour. She missed it. She missed not knowing much of anything, not knowing who she was, what she was. She wished she could find her innocence back but it was gone, far too quickly, far too painfully, and it would never return. She could never be the same again, could never be happy, careless. She'd never feel safe again, she couldn't. The order had made sure of that by taking Alek away from her. He too was gone now, he too would never return to her. She'd lost him for good; she'd lost him forever. Tears fell from her eyes and her heart tightened at the thought of never being with him ever again, never feeling him ever again. It had been hard enough to deal with Brian's death, she couldn't keep going without Alek too. She didn't want to. She missed the days where her main worry about these two boys, men, was to know which one she liked most. She realized now that there was no answer to that question. She didn't like one more than the other; she liked them both equally. Alek had been afraid to be a second best to her but he could never be less than her first choice and neither could Brian. Not that it mattered now. She wiped the remaining tears with the back of her hand and got on her feet. She'd lost them both that night and there was nothing she could do to change that. All she could do now was to let them go, move on. She couldn't know for Brian but she knew that it was what Alek wanted. And if she loved him, truly loved him as much as she'd like to claim she did, she had to respect this, even if she had to turn her heart off, even if it hurt.

_There was a clock on the wall, its tickling driving Chloe madder than the wait itself. It was half past eight in the morning. She had been here for six long hours now, sitting, crying, pacing. She couldn't keep still for more than a minute. She was scared, nervous, anxious, and she had more coffee in her system than ever before. It had been six hours and she still knew nothing. Valentina was dead, Jasmine had lost a lot of blood and Alek seemed to have a concussion keeping him unconscious, that much she had gathered. She wished the Mai she called didn't lead her to a hospital in downtown San Francisco, one where Mai could get treated without being in trouble, maybe then she would have heard from the doctors without having to prove that she was family, maybe she would know if her friends were still alive. She didn't want to be alone anymore. She needed someone to take her hands and tell her that everything would be alright, even if it blatantly was a lie. She needed someone who would yell at the nurses until they let them see her friends. She needed her mom but she couldn't call her. She couldn't tell her where she was, why she was there. It would be too hard to explain and even harder to understand. She hoped Meredith had gotten her voice mail and that she didn't try to call Amy's house to check on her story. She'd spent so much time lying to her mom this year she couldn't blame her for having newfound trust issues. Chloe closed her eyes, just for one second, just to take the burning sensation away. She hadn't slept in more than twenty-four hours, she was exhausted but she couldn't sleep, not now, not here. Truth be told, she doubted she could ever sleep again. She killed Brian. She killed someone she loved. And she'd driven another one of her loved ones into getting himself beaten up. She couldn't get past this, not tonight, not ever. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw their unmoving bodies and their lifeless faces. Her hands were covered in blood, Alek's blood. She tried to wash it away but it was like sewed to her skin, she could almost feel it burn her. She knew that it was all in her head; blood was sticky but easily removable. She should know; she'd lost a lot of it lately. A known voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Her mom was standing by the counter, yelling at the receptionist to tell her what was going on with her daughter. Chloe got up and called her, quietly, almost inaudibly over the hospital's noise. But Meredith heard her and she spun around, pulling her little girl into a crushing hug. _

"_Amy called. She said there had been a car accident and that you were at the hospital. She said you were alright but your friends… she said you'd need me." Meredith explained after she'd checked her daughter for any injuries. An accident. Amy had sold it as a car accident. It hardly made sense when you knew their injuries, when you knew Valentina had been poisoned, Jasmine stabbed and Alek beaten up. But Meredith didn't know what they were suffering from, she'd probably never know, and it made the lie believable to her. And Chloe had never been more thankful to have a friend like Amy; thoughtful and imaginative. She couldn't have come up with a story. She would have stuttered, give pieces of truth, and ended up in a psychiatric institute. Maybe that was the solution. Maybe she'd be safer there, recluse, locked up, away from all. She should go somewhere, anywhere, hide from the Order. Her friends and family would be safer without her around. _

"_I… I don't know what to do, mom. I don't know how… what… The doctors, they won't tell me anything because I am not family but I have to know, mom. I have to know that he's alright. And Jasmine… Valentina… she's dead, mom. They have no one anymore. They're all alone now." Chloe rambled, cried, her words half-eaten by her sobs. She couldn't hold it in anymore, not that she really tried until now but she didn't let herself go either. She couldn't. She had to be strong; for Jasmine who had lost her mom and maybe more; for Alek who would need her either he wanted it or not. But she couldn't be strong. She didn't want to be strong. And so she broke down into her mother's arms, feeling Meredith tighten her already life-crushing hold on her. She could feel everything her mom was feeling at the moment. She hated to see her daughter hurt like that. She wished she could take it all away. Chloe wished that too. She wished she could go back in time and keep the night from happening. _

"_I'm going to try and find out what's going on, okay?" Meredith whispered once Chloe had calmed down a little, securely holding her face in between her hands. She was walking on eggshells, scared to see her daughter break again. Chloe couldn't do it anymore. She didn't want to know how worried her mother was, not now. She just wanted to shut it all out now; focus on her own confusion and worries. She just couldn't deal with the empathy right now, not anymore. She closed her eyes again, focusing on her own heartbeat, her own feelings. She could block it all out, just like she did with sound. Her heart tightened as she remembered Alek helping her, his words echoing in her head "the rest of the world doesn't matter. There's only you and me." It was all she needed now, he and she, Alek and Chloe, nothing else. She didn't need anything else. She didn't want anything else. She'd done it. She'd successfully stop the flood of emotions from overwhelming her. But she still had a nagging feeling inside of her; like there was something she needed to catch on. She took in a deep breath and opened her eyes, quickly rubbing them with her fists to shrug the sleepiness away. She turned around, ready to go back to the waiting room where she could sit while her mom harassed a few innocent nurses, but then she noticed a mop of dirty blond hair peeking out of a bed that was being wheeled to the elevator. She didn't think twice before rushing there, sliding through the doors as they were already closing. Her heart was beating faster than it should, so fast it couldn't be healthy. She couldn't look down. It could be someone else, someone she didn't know or care about. But it could also be him. What if it was him? What if it was Alek? She held her breath and glanced at the patient, relief washing over her as she recognized her friend. She called his name, more like whispered. He just stared at her, his eyes scanning her face before trailing down to her bloody top. And now she wished her empathy could work on Mai; maybe she could finally figure him out then. His lips parted as if to say something but no sound came out at first. The doors opened and he looked away, waiting to be wheeled away from her. Chloe was frozen on the spot, unsure of what to say, what to do. But then she heard him, right before the doors could close on her again, his voice so quiet that it was her super earring that caught the words._

"_I don't want to see you anymore." _


	2. Chapter 2

_Here it is, second chapter of The Morning Afterlife. To be totally honest with you, it didn't turn out the way I planned but I still like it so I hope you will too. The real action starts on the next chapter, yaay._

_Thanks to all of you who favorited, rewieved and tracked this fic. You can't imagine how giddy it makes me._

**Chapter 2: Happy Birthday**

The sun had already rose high in the sky when Chloe sneaked back in her bedroom as quietly as possible. She was exhausted, her body threatening to shut down at any minute, and yet, she still couldn't sleep. The nightmares weren't as realistic and powerful as before, they didn't leave her shaken up and disoriented anymore, but they kept coming every night, they kept reminding her why she was alone now, lonelier than she'd ever been. She sighed quietly, gathering her outfit for the day before heading to the bathroom. All she wanted to do was call in sick and stay in bed till the next morning. She was tired of pretending that everything was just fine, that she was finally moving on. She wasn't getting over anything, anyone. Brian was still dead and it still sucked. Jasmine was still an orphan, still so different from the girl that was her friend, and it was hard. Alek still refused to see her, talk to her, and it still hurt. Six weeks ago they were all together, laughing, having fun. Six weeks ago they were happy, Alek and she were taking the day as it came, not rushing into anything, trying to figure it out, whatever it was. She'd never thought she'd miss him so much. She'd spent years mocking Amy's obsession for the guy, being annoyed by it at times, and now she was the one looking for him in the hallway, going to his appartment at night just to have a glimpse of him. She was such a stalker. She knew that it was useless, that he didn't want anything to do with her. He'd made it crystal clear to her, several times. Once fully clothed and her hair gathered in a messy ponytail, Chloe headed downstairs with a heavy heart. Meredith was waiting for her at the end of the staircase, a small smile plastered on her face. She was trying to cheer Chloe up with her favorite cake. And it could have worked, would have worked, on another day. Chloe blew the candle off without a word and kissed her mom on the cheek. She couldn't tell her mom that all she wanted this year was to ban birthday from her vocabulary.

_The smell of the freshly baked cupcakes in her hands was intoxicating, she didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing. She'd never really baked before. She usually just bought a ready-to-use mix and put it in the oven. On occasions she'd pretend that it was all her doing. She could have done that today. She could have used a pre-made cupcakes mix and tell Alek that she'd done it all on her own, except that it didn't even crossed her mind. It had been a month since that night at the hospital, a month since he'd told her that he never wanted to see her again. But she'd kept going there every day, hoping that he might change his mind and visiting Jasmine. She had been lucky, that's what the surgeon had told her. Zane had missed her vital organs by an inch. He would have hit just a bit higher and she would be dead. Chloe still couldn't believe Zane was behind the attack. He'd seemed so nice, so genuine. He'd fooled them all. The hardest part of it all, apart from her friends being badly hurt both physically and emotionally, was coming to term with the fact that some of the Mai were working with the Order. They willingly decided to join a group of people that wanted them dead. Chloe didn't understand what could possibly make someone turn their back to their own race. But it shouldn't be that surprising. Humans fought each other all the time for one reason or another and, in spite of what they believed, the Mai weren't much different. Another thing Chloe didn't quite understand was the reason why Zane hadn't finished the job. He'd killed Valentina and thought Jasmine was dead too but he'd only beaten Alek up. He'd never aimed for him to die under the attack. He could have aimed for the head or he could have stabbed him, poisoned him. The possibilities to properly killed him were endless but he'd gone with hitting him repeatedly in places that wouldn't put his life on the line. There had to be a reason. He hadn't been interrupted, that much she was certain of. And he couldn't have felt remorse either or he would have called 911. She had to know what had gone on that night. She had to get Alek to tell her. She knew that it was silly to think that a box of homemade cupcakes would do the trick but her options were running out. She took in a deep breath and knocked on the door, waiting for Alek to open it. She spun around to look at her surroundings. Alek's new place was nothing close to what he used to have with Valentina. The building gave the impression to not have been cleaned since the Civil War, dust gathering everywhere and a smell so horrible that it made her eyes tickle. She'd even seen a couple of rats on her way up the stairs. She got that he didn't want to stay at the penthouse, not after everything, not alone, but surely he could have afforded something more decent. She knocked again, determined to annoy him enough so he'd have to open the door to tell her to go away. Truth be told, she had not expected him to stand his ground for so long. She'd believed that a couple of days, maybe a week, would be enough to make him cave in. It'd proven before that he valued her safety more than anything and that he couldn't be mad at her for too very long. She guessed that night did more than change her, her life and her heart. It changed him too, everything about him. And it changed them as a team, as friends, as a couple. But Chloe could be stubborn too. She'd proved it several times over the last few months. She'd talk to the door if she had to._

_"How many times will I have to tell you I don't want to see you anymore, not today, not tomorrow, not ever?" Alek asked angrily as he finally opened the door. It was the first time she saw him since he'd left the hospital, his bruises had completely faded by now but the light in his eyes was still missing. He seemed to have let go of the crushes too. Chloe could only hope the healing progress wasn't just physical._

_"Always one more time." Chloe answered with a weak smile and a hint of sadness in her eyes. She just wanted to get through him, crack up the walls he'd built around himself. She'd done it once. She'd got him to confide in her, trust her. She'd blown it pretty bad, she knew that, but if he gave her a second chance, if he was willing to try again, she could prove herself to him, she could prove that she cared about him, loved him._

_"Just go home, Chloe." Alek sighed before closing the door, not giving her time to react. Chloe felt the tears gathering in her eyes and bit her cheek to keep them at bay. She would not cry. She would not admit defeat, not yet. She put the box of cupcakes on the floor, hoping the dust would not stick to the pastries, and walked away. Had she looked back before stepping in the elevator, she would have seen Alek opening the door again and give a sad look to the box on his doorstep. She would have seen him pick it up, whispering a quiet "thank you" that would get lost in the air._

School had never been such a torture to Chloe. She'd never enjoyed it but she'd never dreaded it either. That was till she had to face the music on her own. Amy and Paul were still there, still by her side through thick and thin, but it wasn't the same anymore. They tried to understand her, the Mai her, the broken her, but they couldn't. No one could. Even she didn't quite understand what was happening to her. She'd lost so much after that night at the theatre; it had to change things, her, but she was yet to see all of the differences. She wished she could turn to someone, talk to someone. Jasmine might understand. She didn't just lose her mother and best friend in the aftermath, she'd also been betrayed by her pretend boyfriend. For the first time in forever, she'd let her guard down. She'd let people in, put her trust in them, in him, and it had all blown up in her face. Jasmine would get it, Chloe thought. But Jasmine had left San Francisco, just long enough to recover. She'd come back when she'd be ready to lead the pride. Chloe wished she knew when that would be. But she'd just keep going through the motion until then; waiting to get her friends back one way or another. She'd keep going to school, attending all of her classes and meeting up with her best friends every chance they got. With that thought in mind, she stepped out of the classroom to join Amy at her locker but stopped dead in her track when she noticed a girl fidgeting with Alek's locker. She suddenly felt like the floor was disappearing under her feet and emptiness was finally eating her away.

_It had never been said that Chloe King was one to give up easily. Actually, it had never been said that she was one to give up at all. She'd fight until there was nothing left to fight for. And that was why she was currently sitting on Alek's dusty doorstep for the fifth day in a row. She knew that he was home, she could hear him pace inside of the apartment. She wished she could see him, could know if he was looking for something or debating whether to let her in or not. The day before he'd sat on the other side of the door, the warmth of his body radiating through the thick separation, and she'd considered it a step forward. He hadn't tried to dodge her or ignore her presence. He'd listened to her going on about everything and nothing. She didn't know if he'd considered opening the door then but it still felt like the closest they'd been in weeks in spite of the piece of wood between them. He wasn't even near the door today. She could sense that there was something wrong with him. Something was troubling him. And she wished he'd open the door and talk to her. She knocked on the door to remind him that she was there, still waiting for a sign that it wasn't for nothing. His footsteps stopped abruptly, making her rise in worry. All too suddenly, she was surrounded by silence. She wondered if he'd left, sneaking out of the window like a teenager after curfew. Her heart tightened at the thought that he was so adamant to not see her that he was ready to jump out the window. The door opened then, so fast that she lost her balance and fell flat on her back. Alek was looking down at her, biting the inside of his cheek to suppress a smile. Without a second of hesitation, he grabbed her hands and pulled her up. He didn't say a word as he stepped aside, motioning to her to get in. Chloe stumbled a little, caught by surprise at the boy's easy behavior. She'd never expected him to allow her in so fast. She'd hoped for it but she'd never dared believing it was possible. And then she saw it, the suitcase next to the sofa. She looked around, desperately searching for a sign that he just didn't unpacked everything yet but the place looked like it had always been lived in. There was no boxes, no suitcases other than the one._

_"You're leaving." Chloe whispered as realization sunk in. He hadn't been pacing; he had been packing. He hadn't let her in because he was ready to give her a second chance; he'd let her in so she could see for herself that it was over. She could stop coming over, stop hoping to fix things. There was nothing to fight for anymore. Tears were pooling in her eyes now and she hated herself for being so weak. A million questions started to buzz in her head. She wanted to ask him why he was leaving and where he was going. She wanted to ask him how long he'd be gone for. But she knew he'd give her all the answers she needed in his own time._

"_I'm suffocating here, Chloe. I feel like the walls are closing in on me and I need a change of air." Alek explained quietly, eyes fixed on her to see her honest reaction. Chloe tried to hold his gaze to let him know just how painful it was for her to watch him leaving San Francisco but she was too scared to break down. She looked around the room instead, carefully avoiding the suitcase next to the door. And for the first time since she'd stepped in, she noticed just how fake and impersonal the place looked. It could have been taken out of a magazine or used as a witness apartment. There were no pictures on the walls, no memories of old times on the furniture. The apartment was tidy and neat, as if ready to change hands._

"_You're not coming back, are you?" Chloe asked, chocking on the words as she feared to already know the answer. She wanted to yell at him that he couldn't just leave her, that she needed him and cared about him too much to let him go. There were so many things she wanted to tell him but that would have to remain unsaid. He couldn't not know how she felt, not after all the hours she'd spent talking to a closed door, not after the days she'd spent sitting outside his hospital room. He might think she wasn't over Brian yet, truth be told, he'd be right, but he had to have realized that she truly cared about him too, that he wasn't her second choice. He knew, he just had to, but he'd decided to go regardless. He'd made up his mind and she had no right to try and change it now._

_"I don't know. I might." Alek half-assured with a small smile that warmed Chloe's heart for a minute. It wasn't a promise that they'd see each other again, far from it, but he hadn't crossed off the possibility yet and it was enough for her to hold onto. At this point, all hope was good to take. And it is with that in mind that she decided to throw her cautionary state through the window. She stepped closer and got on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, her lips lingering there for longer than they should._

_"I'll come looking for you if you don't." Chloe promised, unshed tears in her eyes. She couldn't imagine her life without him, she didn't want to either, and he had to know it. It wouldn't change his mind, she knew that much, but it could give him a reason to come back. She hoped it would be enough of a reason, that she would be enough of a reason. And when he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for the tightest hug to date, she knew that they'd meet again. And maybe, just maybe, they could head for a fresh start then._

Time was dragging on now, had been since that night at the theatre, seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours. Chloe feared she was going insane, spending her days looking at the clock and hoping for the night to fall faster. The early hours of the morning had become her favorite part of the day. She could stop running away from her thoughts then, stop pretending that she was fine. Everyone wanted something from her. Lana wanted her to focus on the job, Amy wanted her to let go of Alek, her mom wanted her to move on from Brian. And all she wanted was to mourn Brian and bring Alek home. It had been seven weeks now. Seven weeks since he'd left in the middle of the night. He'd said he'd dropped by her house to say goodbye but he'd just tapped a note on her window instead. Chloe opened her notebook and stared at the post-it, tracing the words with her fingertips.

_I'll come back. For you._


	3. Chapter 3

_Here you go, chapter 3. Once again, thank you all soooo much for the comments. You're doing a great job at boosting my self-confidence on this one & I wish I could reply to you all individually but alas ff don't let us do that & I never dare sending messages to be like "hey, thanks for the comment, here's what I think of what you said" or, you know, something like that._

_Anyway, enough blabla, on with the chapter. I think you should know that it is not really a happy one._

**Chapter 3: I'm Not Missing You**

Life wasn't a fairytale. There were no faeries flying around gardens, no dragons hiding in lighthouse and definitely no Prince looking for their Princess all around the kingdom. Chloe had wished upon every star in the sky but it was as useless as drying her hair on a rainy day. Everything was still exactly the same as it was before. Amy and Paul were still trying to cheer her up, help her move on, but Brian was still dead and Alek was still missing. At least Jasmine was back in San Francisco now and Chloe was already on her way to see her. She was too painfully aware of the fact that there was a before and an after that night to expect her friend to still be the same girl but she wondered just how much it had changer her. Jasmine had never been the happiest girl on the planet, she'd never really shown her emotions to anyone. She always seemed so composed and on her guard. Chloe couldn't imagine how that could be different. But she'd have her answer soon enough. She also hoped to find out more about Alek's whereabouts. He had to have talked to Jasmine about it. They might only pretend to be cousins but they truly cared about each other. Then again, Chloe used to think he truly cared about her too. She knew that she'd blown it in more ways than one but she'd hoped the note he'd left her meant that he had forgiven her, that he was giving her another chance. But maybe he just wasn't ready to believe in her, in them, again, not yet at least. And she couldn't really blame him either. She didn't know how she'd have reacted if she had had to watch him fall in love with another girl, if she had been the one with a broken heart. She knew how it felt to lose the one you loved, the unbearable pain that came with it, but she didn't know how it felt to see them carry on with their life with someone else. And she wished she did. She wished she could watch Brian fall in love with a human. The pain couldn't be worse than the guilt. She shook the thoughts out if her head and stepped out of the lift. A shiver ran through her spine as she noticed the darker spots on the carpet, reminders of what had gone down here all those weeks ago. The sight of Alek's bloody body came back to her and she had to close her eyes to compose herself again. The door creaked open, pulling her out of her unpleasant thoughts. She opened her eyes, expecting to see Jasmine, but it was a tall man in a black suit standing in front of her. Chloe glanced at the number on the door and frowned.

"Is Jasmine here?" Chloe asked, her voice shaking with too many emotions, most of all she felt confused and uncomfortable. Part of her wanted to say that she'd been mistaken and run away without looking back but she'd waited far too long to just turn around now. She had to see Jasmine. She had to know what was going on and what was to come. The man stared at her for a long minute before stepping aside to let her in. Chloe could feel the knots forming in her stomach as she walked past him and inside the apartment. The living room had been completely redone, from the furniture to the wallpaper. The man leaded Chloe to another room, one she had never been in before. There was a large table in the middle of it and numerous of chairs on each of its side. The walls were covered with some dark brown paint that only served to emphasize the creepy look of the room.

"Hello Chloe." Jasmine greeted from her seat at the extremity of the table, sending a not so pleasant shiver down Chloe's spine. She sat up straight, her hands linked together over the table. She'd cut her long black hair short. Jasmine had never looked so much like Valentina, Chloe thought. And it frightened her.

"I'm glad you could make it. Please, take a seat." Jasmine added when it was clear Chloe wasn't going to reply. Her voice was so emotionless and the words sounded so fake, it felt like a robot had taken her place. Chloe made a mental note to ask Paul if it was possible before sitting down next to her Mai friend. She couldn't help but stare at her, noticing all the details that weren't there before. She looked older, much older than she actually was. The door opening interrupted Chloe's thoughts and she looked up to see about ten more people standing there, seemingly waiting to be invited in.

"I called in some of the most powerful Mai leaders in the world to help us figure out your role as the Uniter. The Order has taken two of your lives now, we can't just sit here and wait for them to pull the dagger again." Jasmine explained calmly, her choice of words making Chloe cringe uncomfortably. She talked like she'd forgotten everything that had happened that night, Zane killing her mother and stabbing her afterwards. Chloe had thought Jasmine could help her fight the loneliness that was consuming her since Alek had taken off but she felt like she was watching her last hope fly away. Her sanity was already wearing thin, she wasn't sure how much longer she'd last without a friend.

"I can't stay. I have to go to school." Chloe quickly excused herself before rushing out of the apartment. She ran as fast as she could and as far as she could. She couldn't just sit there and listen to strangers decide how she should live her life. She'd never signed for it. She'd never signed for any of it. She didn't want to carry a curse that could kill people she cared about. She didn't want the future of a whole race to be in her hands. She just wanted to be a normal teenage girl, hardly surviving a boring day of High School instead of a fight with some crazy scareface and healing a heartbreak with ice cream instead of going to a funeral. But the hardest part today wasn't to let go of normalcy; it was to realize that she was no longer Chloe King to Jasmine, her friend. She was the Uniter, nothing more, nothing less.

Morning had gone blurry to Chloe, and faster than what she'd expected. It had been so long since she'd last paid attention to the world around her that she'd forgotten how empty and quiet the hallway was during lunchtime. It was a nice change from all the agitation of the rest of the day. And it gave Chloe a chance to gather her thoughts. Her mind had been all over the place since she'd run out of the apartment. She'd played the scene a million times in her head, each time seeing the darkness in Jasmine's eyes and the coldness in her voice, each time feeling the hurt from losing a friend to her so-called destiny. She'd give anything to be the sole owner of her life again. She'd willingly let go of Alek if it meant having some kind of normalcy again and she'd felt close to no guilt. He was the one who had left and never turned around. He'd given up on them long before she did. But the truth was that it was all a lie. She could never trade whatever she had with Alek, not even for all the gold in the world. She wished things had been different, with no ancient race coming to play, not tragic death induced by a simple kiss and no feeding lies to her mother. But she couldn't have any of it. She could never live a normal life. She could only make the best of what she had. And the truth was that Alek had always been the best part of this life. He'd been with her every step of the way, helping her, mentoring her. He'd hardly ever believed that she'd give him the time of the day but he'd done everything she'd ever asked of him. He'd believed in her, cared for her. He had been the one person she'd always been able to count on and she'd thanked him by falling for another guy. When she thought about it, she didn't know if she'd fallen for Brian himself or what he'd represented. He had been the door to her humanity, the key to a somewhat normal life. She'd cared about him, she'd love spending time with him, but she couldn't have been in love with him.

"Care to explain why Paul and I had to sit through the entire lunch hour waiting for you?" Amy asked coldly as she strode towards Chloe, looking and sounding as pissed as could be. Chloe looked at her friend, confusion written all over her face. She had skipped more than one lunch over the last few weeks but she'd never been asked for an explanation before. She'd never thought they needed one. They knew what she was going through, how troubled her mind was. She needed time to process everything, try and make sense if it all. Either she liked it or not, she needed to be alone sometimes. She'd thought Amy and Paul understood that.

"I lost track of the time." Chloe answered tentatively but she already knew the excuse wouldn't go down very well with Amy. She had used it one too many times already. Truth be told, she had overused all of the excuses in the world since that night at the theatre. She'd stopped counting the lies told to her mom, her friends, when she'd realized that it wouldn't make her believe them.

"In other words, you forgot about us. Again." Amy accused coldly and crossed her arms over her chest in a self-protective way. Chloe couldn't believe it had come down to this, her best friend thinking that she just didn't care anymore. She hadn't been at her best over the last few weeks, she knew that, but she hoped her friends would understand how hard of a time she was having lately.

"I didn't forget about you. I just… With Alek gone, I…"

"Paul and I are still here, Chloe! We've been here all summer, listening to you complain about everyone else being gone! Do you know how it made us feel? It was like you had found and lost our replacement but we just weren't good enough anymore." Amy cut her out, speaking through gritted teeth, trying to not make a scene in the middle of their high school hall. But Chloe could feel the anger and pain radiating from her friend. It was so strong; it overwhelmed her. She'd been so preoccupied by her own feelings that she'd ended up turning off her empathy. She'd ignored her friends' emotions and needs.

"Amy, I… I don't know what to say." Chloe mumbled, feeling more ashamed than ever before. She'd spent so much time crying over what she'd lost that she'd completely ignored what she still had. Amy and Paul had always had her back. They'd never let her down, never turned their back to her. They'd always been the most loyal and trustworthy people in her life. She couldn't believe how self-centric and ignorant she'd been.

"I guess we're done then."

One of the differences between fairytales and real life was that the line between good and bad wasn't all that clear in the real world. Bad guys didn't always look like it and good guys didn't always remain good. Chloe had always thought she was part of the good guys, not because she was fighting for a more peaceful world but because she was listening to others, she cared and felt for them. But now, it was like she'd lost that ability. She tuned it all out to concentrate on her own desperation, drowning herself in it to the point where she'd stopped believing she could ever break the surface again. And she'd lost her best friend in the process. It could already be too late but she had to try and fix things with Amy. She'd been too big of a coward to give Alek a reason to stick away but she wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. She wasn't going to watch Amy slip away forever. It couldn't be too late yet, not after everything they'd shared. As if on clue, Amy and Paul walked into the café attached to the store where Chloe worked. She watched them from the corner of her eyes, fighting her instincts to not listen to their conversation. As Alek had said before, there were things she didn't want to hear. She noticed Amy scolding at Paul who was walking in her direction and sighed. It wasn't the first time she and Amy had a fall down but it didn't make it any easier, especially knowing that she was to blame for this one.

"I am not taking sides." Paul warned as soon as he'd reached Chloe. The young Mai wasn't all that surprised to hear these words first thing in the conversation. Paul had always preferred being too straight forward than giving any hope when it wasn't needed.

"I'm not asking you to." Chloe replied with a sad smile. She knew how hard it could be to take a side when the fight was between your two best friends. She had been there herself not so long ago. The difference was that Amy wasn't just Paul's best friend anymore she was also his girlfriend. She could have used this fact to keep him from talking to Chloe but she didn't or if she did, it obviously didn't work. Either way, it lightened Chloe's heavy heart to know that she had at least one true friend in this messy life.

"How's Jasmine doing?" Paul asked, following Chloe around the shop as she put new arrivals on the shelves. The young Mai sighed as she thought back to her morning encounter with Jasmine and realized that she didn't know the answer to Paul's question. She could tell him that Jasmine was too different to be doing fine, that there was something suspicious about her new behavior, but she didn't know how accurate her impression was. She didn't know I the changes were due to Jasmine not coping with her mother's death or just to Jasmine moving on. She was San Francisco's pride leader now, she had to act as such.

"She's holding up." Chloe said, her answer purposely evasive. She didn't want to talk about Jasmine's behavior, not yet, not when she was only starting to understand it herself. She'd spent most of the day trying to make sense of it all and she'd finally figured it out. While she'd dealt with all the losses of that night but locking herself in a fortress of solitude, crying herself to sleep every night and looking like a zombie on daylight, Jasmine had built up walls around her heart and these new walls were so thick, so heavy, that even she couldn't get through them anymore.

"Has she heard from Alek?" Paul questioned, his voice quieter, sweeter, than it should be, as if he was scared to break her with words. And he could have, maybe, just a few hours ago, but not now, not anymore. Amy was too right in her reproaches. She did spend too much time thinking about what was gone, who had disappeared, and not enough thinking about what she had now, who had stayed. She wasn't giving up on Alek, she would never give up on him, she couldn't even consider it. But she wasn't going to let his absence consume her any longer. She had to live this life, no matter how unpleasant it felt.

"You should go back to your girlfriend." Chloe sighed heavily and walked behind the counter. The truth was that she didn't think Jasmine would tell her if she had contacts with Alek. She didn't know how the all-new Jasmine felt about the whole debacle between Alek and her but she knew the old Jasmine, her friend, Alek's friend, would never side with her. To be honest, even she wouldn't take her own side. She'd caused too much trouble, pain and hurt. It didn't matter that it had all been involuntary; that she'd just been too confused and lost to decide who she wanted to be with, who she truly loved.

It had been a long day for Chloe and all she wanted was to slip into bed and not move till absolutely necessary. She'd given up on sleep. She'd have to do with the little rest she got, the lonely hour of sleep she caught on every now and then. This sudden insomnia state wasn't coming from nowhere, she knew that. She also knew that it wasn't due to her fear to get killed either. When she lied awake, eyes wide open to stare at the ceiling, it wasn't scarface she thought about, nor the order. It was Brian. It was Alek. It was all of her teenage drama that kept her up at night. If she'd ever wanted to be a normal human being again before she took it all back now. Maybe Jasmine had had the best idea when she'd blocked out her emotions. Maybe that was the only way to survive all this. But Chloe could never do that. She could never turn off that button. She needed to feel, not to acknowledge her Mai powers or unite whatever there was to unite but to be, in some sense at least, normal. Her feelings were the last thread of her humanity, she couldn't let that go. And so her plan to just stare at her bedroom's walls till her mother was too deep into sleep to hear her sneak out had been gone straight to the gutter the minute she walked in her house and saw her mother quietly reading her book on the couch. She'd felt the tears pool in her eyes and known it would be no use to fight them. So she'd run into her mother's arms and, for the first time since that night at the theatre, that horrible night, she'd cried. She cried for Brian. She cried for Valentina and Jasmine. But most of all she cried for herself, for all she had lost and still had to lose. And her mom rocked her like she'd do a little child, whispering sweet nothings into her ear, promising that it would be okay, that it'd get better. And the more she said it, the less Chloe believed it. How could it ever get better? There were so many people hating her guts, wishing her death, plotting to kill her. Even if she ever found a way to unite everyone, this newfound peace would never be hers to live.

"What's going on, Chloe?" Meredith asked softly once Chloe's heavy cries had turned into quiet sobs. And not for the first time, the young Mai considered telling everything to her mom. It'd be easier if she knew the truth, knew what her daughter was. There would be no more secrets, no more lies. But Alek's words were still sounding clear in her head. Once the truth out, there would be no turning back. Her mom could send her to a psychiatric institute or throw her out of the house. And who could she turn to if that happened? Her neglected best friends who had all the reasons and more to let her rot? Her leader, possibly friend, who just wanted her to seal the deal with her fate?

"I got into a fight with Amy, that's all." Chloe mumbled after she'd straightened up, wiping the last of her tears with the back of her hand. She couldn't tell her about the Mai. She wasn't ready to take such a chance yet. And it would only make them both more vulnerable to the Order. She'd put her mother in danger more than anything. It wasn't a risk she was willing to take, not now and not ever.

"Don't think I'm an idiot, Chloe. You haven't been yourself for quite a while now. You always look so tired and sad. I know Brian's death has been hard on you but it can't be just that anymore." Meredith said, worry evident in her voice. It broke Chloe's heart to know just how painful it was for her mother to see her in this state and she wished she could snap out of it now but it wasn't that easy. Nothing ever was.

"Alek's gone. He left town a few weeks ago and I..." Chloe trailed off, unsure of what to say next. She could say that she didn't know where he was, if and when he'd come back. She could say that she was holding onto hope to see him again; a hope that came in the form of a simple piece of paper. But what she really wanted to say was the way she felt about him, about his absence. She wanted to acknowledge the fact that she missed him, that she was in love with him and wanted him back. She just wasn't sure her mother was the right person to say it to, not after their last heart to heart, not after she'd admitted to love Brian.

"Do you love him? And I mean truly love him, as in being in love of the person and not just the idea of him." Meredith questioned, looking as uneasy as could be. Chloe didn't need to think about it, not anymore. She could still feel her heart shattering after he'd told her that he was leaving. And her mom was right; she hadn't been quite herself since he'd gone out of town. She didn't feel like herself anymore. She wasn't just missing someone; she was also missing something, a part of her. And maybe Alek didn't make her legs wobbly and butterflies didn't find their way to her stomach whenever he was around but it didn't mean that she wasn't in love with him. It just meant that what she felt for him was stronger than a teenage romance doomed to end with graduation. And so she nodded.

"Then find him and tell him."


	4. Chapter 4

_First of all, let me wish you a very happy new year, may all of your dreams come true._

_Second of all, I apologize for the lack of update. I got a job and a guy, kinda took a lot of my time. Luckily, I already lost the guy so I'll have more time to write._

_I hope you'll enjoy this chapter never the less; let me know with a comment, please. It's the only way I can improve _

**Chapter 4: Almost There, Going Nowhere **

It had been a little under a week since Chloe had started looking for Alek, hitting more than one wall in the process, but she wasn't ready to give up yet. She wasn't even out of resources yet. She'd tried questioning the basketball team but all she'd learned was that none of players could be considered Alek's friends. Most of them hadn't even noticed he was gone, thinking he'd just got bored and quit. And Chloe couldn't blame them. Alek had never made much of an effort with humans before Amy and Paul. He never had to control himself as much as he did on the court and he hated every minute of it. He'd only joined the team because of the coach's pressure, to keep his secret and pretend to a normal life. His jockos friends having proved to be useless, Chloe had turned to the landlord of his last apartment. She didn't know if he had to give a new address when leaving the previous one but he could have had left indications to get his stuff sent to him. It had been wishful thinking on her part. Not only hadn't he left a way to contact him but the landlord had never gotten word of his departure. So she'd gone to the apartment next. She didn't expect to find him there but, with the rent still being paid, she'd hoped to find someone who could tell her where to find him. Sadly, it had just been another dead end. Alek had given his lease to the young mother of a toddler with the landlord agreement who had probably been too drunk to realize what he'd signed for, let alone remember it months later. The girl had explained to Chloe that she'd met Alek a couple of years ago, after her parents had dishonored her and sent her to the streets, pregnant and ready to pop. He'd taken care of her as best as he could, providing her with food and warm clothes or driving her to the hospital whenever it was needed. Truth be told, Chloe had always known that he had a big heart and that he'd give his life for those he loved but she'd never thought he could be that way with a stranger. That was just so... human of him. With this new lead getting her nowhere, Chloe had turned to her last resort, Jasmine. She'd gone to see her against her best judgment, knowing that she'd get nothing out of her but a lecture for her quick escape of the other day. She'd sat through it, mumbling an apology every now and then, promising to care about her Uniter duties. She was painfully aware of them, of their importance, but she didn't feel strong enough to actually go through them, just not yet. But she'd pretend for Jasmine's sake. And one day, hopefully, she'd have herself convinced too. Somehow, some way, her act had gone through her friend's resolved and she'd left the apartment with the key to a storage room where Alek had gathered most of his belongings. And that was where she was now, with Paul, going through artifacts and photographs find a new lead.

"I think I have something." Paul mumbled carefully without looking up from the piece of paper in his hands. Chloe just stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate. They'd encountered so many dead ends in just an hour that she could no longer get her hope high. To be honest, she was starting to lose all hope. Alek had made sure to erase all traces that could lead to him. She couldn't find someone who didn't want to be found.

"He has a friend who offered him a place to stay in Boston." Paul explained once he'd finished reading the letter. He handed it to Chloe so she could see for herself and watched her skim through the words. Chloe felt her heart tightened as she realized that all the answers she needed were there, in those letters he wrote to his friend. He'd confided all of his secrets, his thoughts, to this person. With everything that had happened, a best friend, confident, was exactly what he needed. He couldn't have declined the invitation.

"And how do I go to Boston now?" Chloe asked without expecting an answer from Paul. She might have saved enough money to pay for the trip but she would never convince her mom to let her go. Somehow, she didn't think going on a limb to find the guy she was in love with would be a good enough reason for her mom. She could have told her that she was spending the weekend at Amy's, just like they used to do so often before the whole Mai deal, but her best friend was still refusing to speak to her.

"How do you feel about school trips?"

When she'd first stepped on High School's ground, Chloe had thought she had the whole experience figured out. She'd seen enough movies and read enough books to know that there were three groups in High School: the popular, the bullied and the invisible. She'd never wanted to be a cheerleader or date a jerk. Popularity hadn't been an ambition of her. She knew how short-lived it was and how, once out of high school, it would all be over. She didn't have what it took to be a misunderstood genius either. Her grades were barely average and she had no desire to start a revolution against the uneatable food at the cafeteria. She'd quickly realized that she was stuck wandering around school unnoticed by everyone else. She'd never been happy in this role. She might have never wanted to be the center of attention but she had never wanted to be invisible either. And so she'd spent the last few years waiting for the end of High School; hoping that things would be different once in the adult world. She'd never had the pretention to even hope for the Ivy League but she'd dreamt of a scholar future. She wanted to study literature and make a living out of her passion. But it would never happen. She'd never go to College; she'd never become an editor. She'd probably be dead before graduation day. Valentina didn't tell her much about the big final battle but she knew without a doubt that the Uniter wasn't meant to survive it. But she was done crying over things that were out of her control. She was going to bring Alek back and cherish every minute she had with him. She'd never make him feel like a second choice ever again, a simple better-than-nothing option. She'd recently realized that, in all of those years of utter invisibility, Alek had always made a point of noticing her. They hadn't talked much before the whole Mai situation but he'd always been gyrating around her. He'd always found a way to be physically close to her without having to be emotionally close to her. It had annoyed her. She'd wanted to punch him, take his ball and throw it in his face. He'd been falling for her long before he'd known she was Mai and he'd fought the feelings away to protect her. Maybe she was just being delusional and he had just enjoyed torturing her all these years but it didn't really matter right now because he'd done so many stupid but adorable things to prove her that he truly cared now, that he could be what she wanted, that he could be good enough. And now, it was her turn to show him just how deep her feelings were, how much she cared about him, loved him. She'd start by going to Boston to ask him, beg him, to come back to San Francisco with her. But first, she had to convince her Literature teacher to let her sign-up for a visit of Harvard.

"You said we could come to you if we ever needed to talk." Chloe said quietly after a minute of awkward silence. Any other teachers would have closed the door in her face and went back to their life without second thoughts but Mr. Peyton was one of those who truly cared about his students. So she knew that, even if the settings were far from perfect, he wouldn't have it in him to send her home before hearing what she had to say.

"I meant at school with witnesses." Mr. Peyton answered anxiously, eyeing the street as if to make sure none of his neighbours had seen the young girl on his doorstep. He might not have anything to feel guilty about but words went fast nowadays, wether they were true or not. As the curtain on the other side of the street moved, he considered telling her that they'd discuss it at school but he'd noticed the changes in Chloe this year, all of her teachers did. If anything happened to her, anything he could have prevented by listening to her tonight, he would never forgive herself. He leaded her to the old bench on his front porch and sat on the armrest opposite to her, waiting for the young girl to tell him her story. Chloe clapped her hands together and took in a deep breath. She didn't know what to say, where to start. Her best chance was to be honest but she didn't know how much she could say without falling in a teenager drama cliché.

"I used to think that I had my life figured out, you know? I might have been young but I knew who I was and what I wanted. And then I met Alek. He shattered my world, quite literally. He made me realize that I was clueless on everything that really mattered and I hated him for that. I tried to push him away just so I could go back to my safe routine, so I could pretend to be somewhat normal again. But somewhere along the way, I… I fell for him. So when I finally got my wish granted, when he flew out of town after being left for dead by the same robber who had killed his aunt and stabbed his cousin, I lost myself for the second time in less than a year. The night of the robbery, I was at the hospital, praying whatever God to save my boyfriend, and I noticed a friend of mine lying on a bed, a white cloth draped over him. He had been found dead at the old theatre just a few hours earlier and they were waiting for a porter to carry his body to the morgue. I don't know what to hold onto anymore. I don't believe there is a future for me out there; not if I keep losing everyone I care about." Chloe said softly, focusing her attention on her hands to keep herself from crying. She'd never talked about that night before, not really. She had been thinking about it all every minute of every day since it happened but she had refused to talk about it to anyone. She'd always known that sharing her sorrows with someone would hurt her more than it would do her good.

"What happened to your friends is horrible, tragic even, but your life, Chloe, your life didn't stop that night. It will take a lot of time for you to heal but one day, sooner than you'll expect it, you will wake up without that ache in your heart." Mr. Peyton promised with a comforting smile on his face, letting his guard down just long enough to squeeze her hands. Chloe realized then that she'd chosen the wrong path and might not get what she was here for but, somehow, it didn't seem to matter anymore because she'd found more than she'd bargained for. She'd found comfort she didn't even know she needed.

"What am I supposed to do until then?" Chloe asked quietly as she felt unshed tears burn her eyes again. The last few weeks, she had been driven by the desire of getting Alek back in her life but she couldn't hold onto him forever. Even if he agreed to give her another chance, she had to find another reason to wake up every morning. She couldn't rely on him completely. It was too big of a weight to ask him to carry it.

"Stop living like you're going to die at the end of the day; build a future you'll be proud of when the day will come."


End file.
